The Most Beautiful House in the Neighborhood, by Kristina Gavran

Fiction Photo by Peter Boccia / Unsplash After renting a room in an Indian family’s house in England, the Croatian tenant becomes privy to one member’s dreams of return. “This is it!” Parvati, a young Indian woman, shows me a tiny room with scarcely space for a bed, a chest-of-drawers, and a chair. The place is so small we can barely both fit in it. The walls are covered in scruffy wallpaper, moisture has accumulated near the windows, and the curtains smell of dust. So, the room is minute, the house is neglected, the street is nondescript, and it is a long way from the city center. They told me it is known as Little Asia. It’s not ideal, but I don’t have a lot of money. I moved to England two weeks ago and urgently need a place to lay my head. Parvati is charging a reasonable rent, and I don’t need much. Also, I like her family. Her husband, Arjun, and two sons with big brown eyes greeted me excitedly when I entered the house. “I’ll take it!” I nod. Parvati claps her hands joyfully and then steps to the window and opens the curtains. “And here is the garden,” she says timidly. I peep out of the window. Before my eyes emerges a typical English backyard, only this one is entirely overgrown and unkempt. You can barely see to the fence, it is so overrun with ivy. The roof of the garden-shed has collapsed, the walls are higgledy-piggledy, and it looks as if the whole lot is about to collapse. Potted plants, rain-soaked toys,... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-07 20:25:08 UTC ]

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Oprah's Interview with Obama Airs on Publication Day

Oprah Winfrey's interview with Barack Obama premieres on Apple TV+ on Tuesday morning, just as copies of the hotly anticipated former president's memoir lands on bookstore shelves around the world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Republican election denialism isn’t scary or funny or pathetic. It’s all of the above.

Yesterday, as senior Republican officials continued to indulge President-unelect Trump’s election fantasies, his claims of widespread voter fraud continued to be baseless, and reporters continued to point that out. Republicans in various states have made mountains out of procedural molehills and... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-11-11 13:19:27 UTC ]
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21 new books to buy from your local indie today.

You know what they say: November is the new December! When’s the best time to support your local bookstore and get holiday gifts? Well, there’s no time like the present. (Get it?) (I’m sorry.) (But seriously, support your favorite indie and check out these new books!) * Jonathan Lethem, The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-10 19:44:02 UTC ]
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Read one bookstore owner’s impassioned call to help all independent bookstores.

As COVID cases surge to record numbers and Republicans flirt with a paper coup the future of the nation’s bookstores remains perilous. Yes, we all have a lot to worry about—but if you care about that unwieldy, amorphous thing called literary culture, please spare a moment (or a dollar) to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-10 16:14:32 UTC ]
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Biden wins, but Trump—and division—aren’t going away

CNN’s election-count coverage ended as it began: with Wolf Blitzer all excited. “After four long, tense days, we’ve reached a historic moment in this election,” he said. “We can now project the winner of the presidential race.” One thrumming musical interlude later, the network reported that... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-11-09 12:59:12 UTC ]
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See inside one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores

Dujiangyan Zhongshuge is the latest bookstore designed by X+Living, and it’s stunning. The very best books transport you to another world, and the most magical bookstores help make that a reality. Chinese bookseller Zhongshuge is renowned for its stunning bookstores, and its latest outpost, in... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-11-02 08:00:34 UTC ]
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WATCH: Tiny Nightmares: Very Short Stories of Horror

Welcome to the virtual book launch of Tiny Nightmares: Very Short Tales of Horror, brought to you by The Antibody Reading Series in collaboration with WORD Bookstore (buy from the bookstore here). Tonight’s guests include editors Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto, along with contributors Meg... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 23:30:17 UTC ]
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Are bookstores essential businesses? In France, they’re making the case.

As Europe goes back into pandemic lockdown French bookstores are making the case to remain open, despite the fact bars and restaurants will be closing. Citing fears of increasing “cultural isolation” bookstore associations are joining with publishers to demand classification as essential... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 16:15:27 UTC ]
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16 new books to buy from your local indie bookstore this week.

With Halloween fast-approaching, I feel the need (along with every other person on the book internet) to remind you that one of the scariest things imaginable might happen: your local indie bookstore might close. Their fate is in your hands. Go on and pick up one (or two or three) of these new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-27 13:16:05 UTC ]
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Column: America's oldest children's bookstore is struggling in the pandemic. But there's hope

Jimmy Fallon, local authors and devoted regulars are rallying to help Once Upon a Time in Montrose — the country's oldest kids' bookstore — survive the pandemic that has destroyed so many small businesses. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-10-27 12:00:02 UTC ]
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How an Agency Cut Through ‘Purpose Clutter’ With Its Bookstore Campaign Trolling Amazon

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[ AdWeek | 2020-10-19 20:06:41 UTC ]
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A bookstore that dwells in darkness, literally.

How does one browse in a dark bookstore? Picture row upon row of faced-out books lit like tiny billboards floating in an inky black room, small candle lit café tables as little islands of light between hundreds of glowing covers… That’s basically the scene at Wuguan Bookstore in Kaohsiung,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-19 15:08:32 UTC ]
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Your Local Bookstore Wants You to Know That It’s Struggling

Independent booksellers are desperate for customers to return, and not just for an online reading. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-10-15 09:00:28 UTC ]
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Your Week in Virtual Book Events, Oct. 12th to 18th

Books Beneath the Bridge: Greenlight Poetry Salon Monday, October 12, 7pm EDT For the eighth season of Books Beneath the Bridge, a literature series hosted by the Brooklyn Bridge Park, Greenlight Bookstore will be hosting a virtual edition of their quarterly Poetry Salon, hosted and curated by... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-12 10:00:38 UTC ]
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How One Book Biz Insider Is Getting Books to Prisoners

W.W. Norton's Liveright imprint publicity director Peter Miller moonlights as a bookstore owner in Brooklyn—and he's working with Books Through Bars to get books into the hands of the imprisoned. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Op-Ed: Buy from your independent bookstore now — or you may never be able to again

Vroman's Bookstore is just one of many independent bookstores in danger of closing as a result of the pandemic. It's not too late to save them. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-10-05 10:00:03 UTC ]
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A Bookstore as Tough as New York City Itself

Book Club, an indie on Manhattan's Lower East Side, was only open for a few months before the pandemic hit. Since then, its owners have gotten creative, and are raising the store’s profile. Here's how. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Would you find this bookstore beautiful or terrifying? Or both.

Well, beautiful might not exactly be the word—perhaps disquietingly arresting? Chinese architecture firm x+living seems to be channeling the synaptic afterimages of Borges’s brain in their dizzying design for a bookstore in the city of Dujiangyan, in the southwest of China. The almost manic use... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-23 13:51:18 UTC ]
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Book Revue: A Bookstore For Everyone

Take a tour of an independent bookstore and community hub, Book Revue, the largest independent bookstore on Long Island. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-09-23 10:38:00 UTC ]
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An Australian bookstore will stop stocking books by J.K. Rowling.

Australia has spoken, and J.K. Rowling is out. Rabble Books & Games in Maylands, Australia, said earlier this week that the store would stop stocking her books due to this, this, or this, all of which, it’s not so wild to presume, have already impacted her book sales. “We are always trying... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-17 19:06:37 UTC ]
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